Google AdWords Forum

I think that the "Do no evil" seems to perhaps not apply outside the US. Google recently opened official representation in Israel, in order to facilitate awareness and the effectiveness of AdWords, Google has quickly put a small team together that will manage AdWords campaigns for selected clients. The Israel sales team calls major corporations and 'aggressively' tries to educate them on the effectiveness of AdWords...

So where is the problem?

Google has called every client of ours (for whom we already manage AdWords campaigns) and attempted to convince them that they would do a better job then us.

Putting aside if an AdWords manager hired only weeks ago can give more efficient and better service then us (we have been running AdWords for major Israeli businesses for over three+ years). Why does Google Israel contact client who already maintain AdWords accounts and are completely satisfied?

Early this week i spoke to Mayer Brand head of Google Israel at a local Internet Conference in Tel-Aviv and he assured me that they where contacting only 'selected clients', i relayed him that the clients he was contacting where already on AdWords, he responded that he would look into it.

I have been contacted by four major clients of ours who told me the same story, Google is consistently calling us asking for the CEO in an attempt to have the client move the accounts to Google?

Manga! Google did a Free PPC Campaign (PPC cost only - no service fee) for my client and managed to squeeze a bit more converting traffic and thats all good for the client. My traffic still gives a higher ROI so once the trial is over my client will re-evaluate the situation.

The problem is this is your client. More importantly, this is a client that you originally sold on using Adwords. So you brought this business to Google. For Google to now come in and try and steal them from you is beyond unethical.

What incentive is there for you or anybody else to do the work of getting clients if Google is going to try and steal them?

I don't know how Google can promote its AdWords Professional program on the one hand, and then screw the people sending them business on the other. Makes no sense at all.

The problem is this is your client. More importantly, this is a client that you originally sold on using Adwords. So you brought this business to Google. For Google to now come in and try and steal them from you is beyond unethical.

There is no doubt in my mind that what G are doing is very wrong. I wounder though if such actions are legal. "Price fixing" (to start with) is illegal in many countries. G can be easily sued (and PAYUP) if they continue with this crap.

Are we absolutely sure that the people calling clients ARE indeed from Google?

Antitrust or competition laws are laws which seek to promote economic and business competition by prohibiting anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Government agencies known as competition regulators regulate antitrust laws, and may also be responsible for regulating related laws dealing with consumer protection.

The term "antitrust" derives from the U.S. law which was originally formulated to combat "business trusts", now more commonly known as cartels. Other countries use the term "competition law". Many countries including most of the Western world have antitrust laws of some form. For example the European Union has its own competition law.

A business with a monopoly over certain products or services may be in violation of antitrust laws if it has abused its dominant position or market power. Although not all anti-competitive behavior which is subject to antitrust laws involve illegal cartels or trusts, the following types of activity are generally prohibited.

Sorry to hear about your predicament Yelled_Boy, its tough to sell against your supplier when they go direct to poach your clients but you can overcome by deploying your own strategies.

Do the smooth talkers from google do the campaign management or do they hand it off to faceless employees? How accountable are they to the client? Do they have genuine interest in the success of their clients? Do they bring any value? Will google promise not to share info with your clients competition? Are they as accessable as you are for customer service?

Do some home work and sell against them just like you would with any competitor. Learn their weaknesses, point up their lack of ethic. Although ethics seems to be a laughable trait nowadays, you'd be surprised by how many business owners respect vendors that have integrity. Smart clients have learned that dealing with dodgy vendors always costs more in the long run.

As an Organisation grows big it tends to attract a different type of people then it earlier did. These new people are more interested in their personal development rather than the actual goals of the organisation. It happens with all Big organisations and it now seems to be happening with google.

Thanks Web_speed. I am sure that they are indeed from Google, i don't want to over elaborate, at the risk of ruining any relationship with Google and/or any of my clients, but this is policy here on some levels, we have rather big local clients, that is subjectively speaking they are the big advertising spenders in the local market, if Google is to make an example of how SEM is effective, by way of how "Google can bring targeted traffic, leads.. etc, etc" some of them would potentially make proper cases. That being said, the logical deduction would be that they want to max as much SE dollar as possible, and if Google asks directly... its looks different. I am also in London attending the SES, met several SEMs from India who said that is happening there as well.